What if walking into the public bathroom at school that associates with your gender identity caused you to be bullied, harassed, and/or discriminated? What if you were terrorized for being true to yourself? This is what nearly hundreds of thousands of transgender teens in the US have to go through just for being themselves. Wouldn’t you want to  create a safe space for the teenagers who are constantly worried about what some may think is a simple act, going to the bathroom? West High School has made this possible.

This spring, construction in the art hallway has resulted in a new single-occupancy gender neutral bathroom. West High is now one of about 150 public high schools in the US that have gender neutral bathrooms. “I was in COLORS when I first heard they were done and finished. Everyone cheered and hugged each other because we were really excited for our friends that are non-binary or just questioning that they now have a safe space,” McKenna Proud ‘21 said.

Many people use the argument that sexual predators will take advantage of the new accommodations and attack women and children, but there is actually no evidence of those kind of attacks. According to CNN, they reached out to 20 law enforcement agencies with anti-discrimination policies covering gender identity and none of them reported any bathroom assaults after the anti-discrimination law took effect.

Gender neutral bathrooms not only are a safe place for transgender or gender nonconforming, but also useful for parents or caregivers whose children are a different gender from them or people with caregivers who are a different gender.

Adding a gender neutral bathroom to West High is a very big step for our community. By installing this facility, we are becoming more accepting and united as a school. This advancement should help students feel more included and safe throughout their years at West High.